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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26882455">Midnight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerdOfTurtles/pseuds/HerdOfTurtles'>HerdOfTurtles</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>My sad attempt at whumptober 2020 [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hetalia: Axis Powers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Gen, Historical Hetalia, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Poor China (Hetalia), Poor England (Hetalia), Poor Life Choices, Wales doesn't want to deal with this, Whump, Whumptober 2020, opium war is mentioned</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:22:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,799</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26882455</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerdOfTurtles/pseuds/HerdOfTurtles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>England shows up in the middle of the cold night, and Wales has a sinking feeling that he wont be able to ignore his brother this time. </p><p> </p><p>Written for Whumptober 2020, prompt: "Enemy to caretaker"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>England &amp; Hong Kong (Hetalia), England &amp; Wales (Hetalia)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>My sad attempt at whumptober 2020 [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949041</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Midnight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hA you thought I'd do France! WELL I DID WALES! <s>England really doesn't have good ties with his family lmao</s><br/>The UK bros were at each other's throats for centuries, and I think that maybe there used to be more siblings on that little island way back when. All those traumatised older nations smh life was hard early on. Anyhow I didn't do France because I can't imagine those two even beginning to get along until ww1, in which they probably both suffered a lot together and only had each other to confide in. Before that they 100% wanted each other dead heh. So the UK bros seemed the only plausible option and I ended up doing Wales. </p><p> </p><p>off topic:<br/>*INHALE* It's a FRiCKIN crime UK bros weren't in the anime D=&lt;</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Where's our guest, sir?" </p><p>"I don't know." Wales replied. Snow swept the thin glass windows as the temperature continued to drop, from soft flakes to angry sleet. Wales lost his gaze in the crackling flames.</p><p>"Don't you think you should speak with him?"</p><p>"No. I let him come inside... that's already enough for him."</p><p>A howl creaked through the wood frameworks of the house as a thick storm of snowflakes battered the window. Ignoring the frost was much easier than ignoring his company. The murky image of another living being sitting quietly downstairs kept cycling into his imagination. </p><p>His eyes had traveled there- to the frost- leaving the warm orange and burning gold of the fire. His face burned, only now realsing the cold that he hadn't felt when giving his attention to a warmer burning glaze. The cold kiss of air was refreshing, but the bitting cold discomforted him in the way it discomforted all creatures with blood flowing through their veins.</p><p>Wales wrapped his thick blankets tighter as he watched the snow careen in vicious featherlight circles. </p><p>"I haven't heard from our guest yet; something a might bit concerning considering the circumstances."</p><p>"I am aware." Wales made no move.</p><p>Wales tapped the wood shoulder of his chair and lost his gaze once more in the amber glow flickering to escape his fireplace. The flames leapt hungrily at him from their dying prison and Wales found that the crackling flames discomforted him just the same as the snow.</p><p>The country sighed. He really should force himself to face his brother, no matter how he tried to push down that murky image. He stood slowly to his feet and dropped the patchwork blanket as he turned to the human that watched his moment with approval. </p><p>“I shouldn’t leave Kirkland waiting. He has been cold long enough." Wales muttered. </p><p>The human nodded, and made no move to follow him down the stairs to meet his guest. Wales appreciated that. Others of his kind might call humans dull and short lived, but Wales liked their simple empathy. They were much warmer creatures than countries... Wales envied that of them. </p><p>On the low floor Wales couldn't hear the thin pops of his fire anymore. The room was dark. </p><p>Wales gaze adjusted, and the shadows began to take shape. Only one thing stood out as different; lumps of his guest’s bundles of discarded items were scattered like rags on the floor, and the one responsible shivered idly on the shoulder of a tattered green couch as if afraid to settle in any further.</p><p>"England." Wales nodded in cold greeting. His little brother flinched at his country name and huddled the bundle in his arms closer to himself. There was a small stab of pity in his heart at his brother's reaction, but he didn't show it on his face.</p><p>"You're shivering. Do you need something warm to drink?" Wales said, still cold, but with a little guilt. England looked like he needed it, but whether more for comfort or for physical need, he didn't know. All he knew was that his brother visiting was an odd occurrence, and now that he saw his sibling's sorry state an unpleasant feeling was growing in the pit of his stomach. It would have been odd for any of his estranged family members to visit, but for his little brother to come in such... silence... was disturbing. England had never fit in with the others, in behavior, language, culture, and ambition, and it wasn't much of a secret that he didn't come from Celt; his face gave him away the second he was born. But no one ever said anything. They didn't need to. But it put an unbridgeable gap and violent hostility between the siblings, which meant the fact that England was coming to him- subdued and meek- foretold something grim.</p><p>Wales let the offer hang in the near empty, creaking, whistling house. England barely shook his head. Wales didn't even know if he'd imagined the weak sway of his brother's head in the dark or not.</p><p>Outside the frost continued to tap the window. A bad, cold feeling fell away in him and Wales stepped across old wood floors and leaned down by England's side. He ignored the way his brother shifted protectively around the bundle again.</p><p>"England look me in the eye." Wales spoke sternly.</p><p>England shook his head.</p><p>"England, I don't have time for this."</p><p>The head shook more aggressively.</p><p>Wales growled, letting the impatient fury that had been stewing under his skin since he heard his brother had shown up to his home for the first time in centuries trickle into his words, "If you don't comply with the rules of my house, England, I will throw you back into the snow. It wouldn't be that hard for me to do. Now, one more time, look me in the eyes."</p><p>Those green eyes lifted slowly, hesitant, and fearful. The green irises shifted once or twice from Wales's hard stare and Wales found that England's face looked so ridiculously young. He looked nothing like Rome. But Wales knew he was looking at an empire, a cruel ambitious empire, one just like Rome but ten times as large with more potential to hurt and Wales felt his resolve strengthened.</p><p>"Good. Now show me what you've got." </p><p>Immediately England reacted.</p><p>"No- wait-" England's grasp tightened and he moved away but Wales was faster. His fist gripped into England's filthy military garments and yanked him back into place leaving his brother to squirm weakly. Why the hell was an empire so weak? Surely England's latest war didn't take that much out of him, the powerful British Empire had to be better than this, or one of the other nations would have killed the reckless fool already.</p><p>That sinking feeling came back, stronger than before.</p><p>"England what do you have in the rags?" Wales looked coldly down on England, and England looked helplessly back up at him, still weak, still pathetically embodying everything the British empire shouldn't be. </p><p>A grim thought suddenly entered his head, and he found his suspicions growing. "It's opium, isn't it? I bet it's opium, that stupid drug you’re obsessed with. A few of your officers even said you were taking the stuff and now it's in your streets, your ports and every level of your godforsaken society. You're supposed to be strong, England. What the hell ever happened to that? Do you just think you're so big and powerful that it doesn't matter?" </p><p>England was vigorously shaking his head, Wales didn't know for which statement, but Wales didn't care.</p><p>"I bet while your country was at war, you and China were too high to even notice." It didn't matter how miserable and afraid England looked, Wales wanted this to hurt. He wanted to bite his terroriser back with the few fangs he had. He wanted to watch the consequences catch up with the kid.</p><p>"It's not opium- I haven't- not for a while- Em please listen!"</p><p>"How long is a while England?" Wales hissed and England flinched.</p><p>"Emrys please..." </p><p>The house creaked especially loud, the wood overhead wheezed, and Wales heard something wail.  Something out of place. A human-esque wail. A soft, child-like, sound. Wales knew that sound, and Wales couldn't breathe. England looked deathly pale, and for the first time since his arrival Wales could see the bundle stirring ever so slightly.</p><p>"What-" Wales choked, he sucked in another sharp breath, he couldn't breathe. "England..."</p><p>"It... it was an accident, I swear, I didn't mean to- I wasn't paying attention and it just-" England's tone became pleading and Wales hated it.</p><p>"You influenced a land without even realising!? You tore out a piece of your soul, your essence, and you didn't feel a thing?!" </p><p>"Neither of us noticed-"</p><p>"You were high, weren't you?" Wales spat. England struggled for words and Wales was disgusted that England couldn't find anything to refute with. "England you better swear on the queen's life that you've been clean for over a month now or else I'll take the kid and you wont ever see him again."</p><p>And then England broke. His body shook and his breathing went uneven, and Wales could see the sheen in his eyes that his clenched hands desperately tried to dry and Wales hated his brother just a bit less but even more at the same time, and all he wished was that he could go back to how it was before when he didn't realise his brother was falling apart downstairs while he sat in front of his crackling warm fire thinking the worst the night would come to would be an argument.</p><p>England really had a gift for screwing everyone over, whether he wanted to or not. </p><p>Wales rocked back onto his heels and stood as he stared down at his brother. England was in a bad place, a place he likely wouldn't be able to get out from by himself. But the guilt gnawing away at his insides that ebbed and throbbed didn't stop him from taking the kid from England's half-hearted grip and into his own arms. Wales could feel it... the energy split from England and the bit from China all cracked together into one human-like vessel. It was irresponsible, horrible, and England needed to fix the jaggedness of the child's creation, but England needed to be in a position he could successfully fix his mistake from before then, and his little brother was in no state to do so.</p><p>"How about a deal, England. I am going to take care of the kid and he's going to stay with me, there's nothing you can change about that-- you are incapable of raising another colony like this," Wales nodded toward his distraught auditor. "But, I'll let you stay with him at my house if you decide to let me help you." </p><p>England couldn't meet his gaze as he spoke, and couldn't meet it after. And by the way England pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his head in his arms instead of getting up and leaving, Wales deducted that the colony and country bond between the two must have already been strong enough to keep England from leaving. Wales didn't know if England even had the option to leave. He'd split his essence apart so many times now that Wales thought maybe he needed the proximity to function.</p><p>Nevertheless, England didn't look like he was going anywhere, and Wales was determined to fix this rift even if he had to put every broken shard of England and the damaged colony together again.</p><p>He left England downstairs on that couch and took the Colony to tuck away in a room, far from his unwell Country.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I think England is eligible for the 'not as much of a jerk as he could have been' award. Also the 'suckiest caretaker who tried' award. He's trying he just really sucks at it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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